Big Al's Food Blog How To Stuff Chicken Breast

These juicy chicken breasts are stuffed with garlicky mushrooms, spinach and a blanket of oozing melted cheese. Simple to make with just a few ingredients, this is how to transform chicken breast from ho-hum into "ohhh yum!"

After this one, try Sun Dried Tomato Stuffed Chicken!

Stuffed chicken breast

Mushroom-Stuffed Chicken Breast is one of those recipes where you take just a few ingredients and deploy them in a way that makes chicken breast so much more interesting than it usually is! Chicken breast, spinach, mushrooms, garlic and cheese are the only base ingredients here. Vary the type of cheese and swap the spinach for other leafy veg to spin this dish to suit your tastes or what you have on hand!

To make it, it's as simple as frying off the mushrooms and spinach, stuffing the chicken, giving it a quick sear and then baking to finish it off. The reward is THIS for dinner tonight ↓↓↓!

Fork picking up a piece of Mushroom Stuffed Chicken Breast

Looks a whole lot more interesting than the usual dull chicken breast recipes, right??!!

Skillet with sautéed mushrooms and spinach

Ingredients in Mushroom-Stuffed Chicken Breast

Here's what you need to make this recipe. Not that much, like I said!!

Mushroom Stuffed Chicken Breast ingredients

All these ingredients are pretty straightforward, so I don't think I need to run through them like I usually do. Just a few points:

Chicken – It needs to be breast to be large enough to cut deep pockets. Boneless thigh won't work;
Baby spinach – Chopped or sliced ordinary spinach, silverbeet (Swiss chard), kale or cabbage will work fine too;
Cheese – Anything that melts will work great. Mozzarella is ideal because it melts well but isn't as runny as, say, cheddar or tasty cheese. This is worth bearing in mind since we don't fully seal the chicken like with Chicken Kiev since it's a quick recipe, so some cheese is likely to escape!;
Thyme – Fresh thyme and mushroom are such a classic combination, I can't help but use it often! Dried thyme can be used as an alternative, else dried oregano, marjoram or rosemary. Fresh versions of any of the aforementioned will also be perfect, as would parsley or tarragon. Most herbs, really!

How to make it

One tip: stuff generously. Like paltry pie fillings and dinky dumplings, nothing is sadder in this life than stingy stuffing!

How to make Mushroom Stuffed Chicken Breast

Sauté mushroom and spinach – The key here is to get great colour on the mushrooms. Colour means flavour, and we never say no to flavour.
Cut pocket slits – Cut a pocket in the chicken breast, per the diagram below, being sure not to cut all the way through. Cut the side where the meat has a fold, not the smooth side.

How to cut pockets in chicken breast — Where to cut chicken pocket

Season the chicken, including inside the pocket, with salt and pepper;
Stuff generously with the mushroom and spinach, then stuff in cheese slices;
Seal with 2 or 3 toothpicks. It will be stuffed too much to seal completely, and that's OK (in fact it's good!) The goal here is just to keep it closed enough so the filling stays mostly in place. Just insert the toothpicks on the diagonal, that's enough to hold it in place.
Sealed and ready! This photo shows what it looks like once sealed. Ready to cook!
Brown the breast in an oven-proof skillet (so we can take it straight from the stove to the oven);
Bake and rest – Bake for 15 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken is 65°C / 149°F. Then remove the chicken to a plate and rest for 5 minutes before serving. Resting is an essential step after cooking any protein to allow the juices in the meat to redistribute. If you don't rest, the meat juices run out onto the plate when you cut into it.

Mushroom Stuffed Chicken Breast on a plate ready to be eaten

What to serve with Mushroom-Stuffed Chicken Breast

The nice thing about this chicken breast recipe is that there's already a decent amount of vegetables in it, making it virtually a meal-in-one. While our mums would beam approvingly if they knew we'd made the effort make an extra vegetable side dish, the truth is I wouldn't go too far out of my way for it! For the photo above all I did was take the leftover baby spinach and drizzled it with some Balsamic Dressing. Totally simple and lazy, but hey it does the trick!

If you feel like making your mum proud though, have a browse of Vegetable and Side Salads. It's organised by vegetable to make it easy to use something you've got!

Also pictured on the side is Lemon Herb Risotto. Before you start furrowing your brow at the thought of the effort needed to make a risotto, know that this is a simple no-stir, baked risotto! You read that right. Not only that, the results are staggeringly close to – no, I'd even say virtually indistinguishable from – traditional risotto. Creamy, luscious and perfectly al dente, all without standing at the stove stirring for thirty minutes.

Try it. I think you'll be surprised! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

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Servings 2

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Recipe video above. These juicy chicken breasts are stuffed with garlicky mushrooms, spinach leaves and a blanket of oozing melted cheese. Simple to make with just a few ingredients, this is how to transform chicken breast from ho-hum into "ohhh yum!"

After this one, try Sun Dried Tomato Stuffed Chicken !

▢ 2 x 220g / 7oz chicken breast , skinless boneless (Note 1)
▢ 3/4 tsp salt
▢ 1/4 tsp pepper
▢ 30g / 2 tbsp unsalted butter
▢ 200g / 7 oz mushrooms , sliced 3mm (1/8″) thick (~2 heaped cups)
▢ 2 garlic cloves , finely minced
▢ 1/2 tsp thyme leaves (Note 2)
▢ 2 cups baby spinach (Note 3)
▢ 80 g / 3oz mozzarella , sliced (or other melting cheese)
▢ 1 tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 200°C/390°F (180°F fan).
Cut pockets into each chicken breast, being sure not to cut all the way through (see photos in post). Cut on the side with the fold in the meat, to keep the smooth side intact.
Season the inside and outside of the chicken with half the salt and pepper.
Mushroom filling: Melt butter in a heavy based oven proof skillet over high heat. Add mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes until they start to turn pretty golden. Then add garlic, thyme, remaining salt and pepper and continue cooking for a further 2 minutes until mushrooms are nice and golden.
Add spinach: Add baby spinach and stir until wilted – about 30 seconds.
Stuff mushroom mixture into the pocket of each chicken, then top with cheese.
Seal with toothpicks as best you can – it doesn't need to be fully sealed like we do with Chicken Kiev. Just mostly sealed.
Sear chicken: Give the pan a quick wipe with paper towels. Heat oil over medium high heat. Sear each side of the chicken breast for 1 1/2 minutes until golden.
Bake 15 minutes: Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake for 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken is 65°C/149°F (chicken flesh, not the mushroom filling).
Rest 5 minutes: Remove from tray onto a plate, loosely cover with foil and rest for 5 minutes. Serve! Pictured in post with easy creamy Baked Lemon Herb Risotto and baby spinach with Balsamic Dressing.

1. Chicken breast is required for this recipe as it's the right shape to cut pockets and the right size to hold enough filling. Recipe won't work with thighs or other cuts of chicken.

2. Other herbs – 1/2 tsp dried thyme or other dried herbs of choice. Otherwise, chives, parsley, rosemary (1/2 tsp chopped), oregano or marjoram.

3. Baby spinach – Substitute with chopped / sliced English spinach, silverbeet / Swiss chard, kale or even cabbage.

4. Nutrition per chicken breast.

Calories: 575 cal (29%) Carbohydrates: 7 g (2%) Protein: 60 g (120%) Fat: 34 g (52%) Saturated Fat: 15 g (94%) Trans Fat: 1 g Cholesterol: 205 mg (68%) Sodium: 1409 mg (61%) Potassium: 1352 mg (39%) Fiber: 2 g (8%) Sugar: 3 g (3%) Vitamin A: 3550 IU (71%) Vitamin C: 15 mg (18%) Calcium: 258 mg (26%) Iron: 3 mg (17%)

Keywords: stuffed chicken breast

Life of Dozer

Life of Dozer… and Life of Nagi!!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you're short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

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